Constrictive pericarditis: 21 years' experience and review of literature.

To the best of our knowledge there are no publications about Tunisian experience in constrictive pericarditis (CP); the aim of this study was therefore to review our twenty-one years' experience in terms of clinical and surgical outcomes and risk factors of death after pericardiectomy. An analytic bicentric and retrospective study carried out on 25 patients (20 male) with CP underwent pericardiectomy, collected over a 21-years period. The mean age was 40.

Spontaneous Aortocaval Fistula with Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm 5 Years after Aortic Valve Replacement Complicated by Aortic Dissection.

Iatrogenic aortic dissection after cardiac surgery is a rare and serious complication, the management of which involves many therapeutic modalities and whose prognosis is associated with high rate of morbidity and mortality. The authors report the case of a 61-year-old man presented with aortocaval fistula and aortic dissection 5 years after aortic valve replacement.

Design and Rationale of the National Tunisian Registry of Atrial Fibrillation: Protocol for a Prospective, Multicenter Trial.

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is an important health problem in Tunisia. A significant change in the epidemiological pattern of heart disease has been seen in the last 3 decades; however, no large prospective multicenter trial reflecting national data has been published so far. Robust data on the contemporary epidemiological profile and management of AF patients in Tunisia are limited.

Redux valvular surgery with coronary artery bypass graft in familial hypercholesterolemia.

Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is a dominantly inherited disorder caused by mutation at the locus for the low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor and is frequently associated with premature coronary artery disease and aortic valve involvement. The surgical treatment of these complications is accompanied by a high degree of risk, even in skillful hands. An intensive cholesterol-lowering therapy and LDL aphaeresis in association with surgery may be useful.

[Results of surgical treatment of intracardiac total anomalous pulmonary venous return].

Background: Total anomalous pulmonary venous return (TAPVR) has a rather low incidence (1-3%) of all congenital heart disease. Intracardiac TAPVR represent 25-30% of all TAPVR.

Aim: To report our results and long-term follow-up of surgical management of intracardiac TAPVR.

[Prosthetic valve endocarditis: about 14 cases].

Background: Prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE) is a serious complication of valve surgery.

Aim: The aim of this study is to determine the diagnostic and therapeutic management for PVE.

Methods: It's a retrospective study about 14 cases of PVE operated in the department of cardiovascular surgery of la Rabta hospital between January 1996 and December 2006.

[Diaphragmatic paralysis after cardiac surgery in children: value of plication].

Phrenic nerve injury is a recognized and severe complication after cardiac surgery. Diaphragmatic paralysis leads to difficulty of weaning the child from the ventilator surgical plication is an easy and safe procedure that result in early clinical and physiological improvements.